CBI team leaves for London to bring Pinto

CBI team leaves for London to bring Pinto
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, AUG 20: A three-member CBI team will leave tonight for London to bring back London-based Brazilian businessman A E Pinto, an accused in the Rs 133 crore urea scam, whose extradition was ordered by the British authorities recently after a prolonged battle for over two years.

The team comprising of a law officer, a deputy superintendent of police and an inspector will bring Pinto, who is the third person to be extradited in the case to stand trial here.

The British Home Department ordered extradition of Pinto, an agent of the Turkish firm Karsan, after the CBI accused him of having received kickbacks of about Rs seven lakh in the scam, the sources said.

The authorities in the Home Department agreed to extradite Pinto to India after the agency fought a legal battle in the United Kingdom for two-and-a-half years.

As per the guidelines laid down by British Home department, Pinto has to be extradited to India by the end of this month, sources said.

They said his extradition could help to unravel some details on how money changed hands in securing the deal and who were the key persons who swung the deal in favour of Karsan Limited.

The CBI has alleged that Pinto, who had introduced key accused Sambasiva Rao to the Karsan Company (which made him its agent in India), had received the money from Turkish firm in his account during the scam period.

CBI sources said Pinto had signed a contract withtional Fertiliser Limited (NFL) for supply of urea about four months before the Rs. 133 crore deal was signed with Karsan.

After three lakh tonnes of urea did not reach here onschedule as per the contract with Karsan, Pinto visited India in late 1995 to assure the NFL officials that the supplies would be reaching soon.

The CBI in 1997 issued a letter rogatory to theauthorities in London, seeking assistance in locating and interrogating Pinto.

The Brazilian businessman was traced easily as he wasunder detention in London for traffic offence.

His extradition was ordered by a Bowstreet magistrate onApril 16, 1998 but the accused then filed appeals in various courts and departments.

Later, the order of the magistrate was endorsed by theSecretary of State department in Britain but Pinto again filed an appeal against the order in higher court.

CBI recently received crucial documents running into over700 pages, pertaining to accounts and money transaction by Karsan executives Tunkay Alankus and Cihan Karanci, who were extradited in 1997.

Besides Alankus and Karanci, CBI has chargesheeted sevenpersons including former NFL chairman C K Ramakrishanan and its executive director D S Kanwar in the case.

Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao's kin Sanjiva Raoand former Union Minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav's son Prakash Yadav are among the accused.